Device for controlling tension of wire dispensed from a reel

ABSTRACT

A device for controlling the tension of a length of wire as it is being unwound from a spool across one end flange thereof. A continuous, looped flexible mono-filament member is sandwiched between two coaxially secured discs extending around the circumference thereof with the extremities of the flexible member protruding radially beyond the periphery of the discs. The sandwiched portions of the flexible member are spaced radially from the axes of the discs. The protuberant extremities of the flexible member are severed to produce a plurality of flexible separated fingers or strands. The assembled discs can be mounted on a flange of the spool with the wire extending through the fingers to control tension of the wire as it is unwound from the spool, the device remaining stationary on the spool.

Jordan DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING TENSION OF WIRE DISPENSED FROM A REEL [75]Inventor: Anthony Jordan, Des Plaines, Ill.

[73] Assignee: WISCO, Des Plaines, Ill.

[22] Filed: Mar. 27, 1972 [21'] App]. N0.: 238,377

[521 U.S. Cl. 242/147 R, 242/l28 51 int. 811 B65h 59/06 [58] Field ofSearch 242/147 R, 128

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,128,487 8 1938 Klein242/128 2,479,826 8 1949 Frick et 31.. 242 12 3,2023 80 8 1965 Hosbein..'242/128 3,323,960 6/1967 Brown 242 128 FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 1,238,423 4 1967 Germany 242 128 Sept. 11, 1973 PrimaryExaminer-Stanley N. Gilreath Attorney-I. Irving Silverman et a].

[57] ABSTRACT A device for controlling the tension of a length of wireas it is being unwound from a spool across one end flange thereof. Acontinuous, looped flexible monofilament member is sandwiched betweentwo coaxially secured discs extending around the circumference thereofwith the extremities of the: flexible member protruding radially beyondthe periphery of the discs. The

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING TENSION OFWIREDISPENSED FROM A REEL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates to wire tension control devices, andmore particularly, to a control device of the character describedadapted to be mounted on the .end plate or flange of a wire spool forcontrolling the tension of the wire as it is being unwound from thespool.

2. Description of the Prior Art Spools of wire commonly are used in manyfields for storage ofthe length of wire retained thereon and tofacilitate convenient unwinding of the wire without twisting or kinking,when winding coils or the like. In many instances, it is desirable tounwind the wire across one end flange of thespool while the spool restson the opposite end flange thereof conveniently adjacent a coil windingmachine, for instance. During unwinding of the wire, the spool remainsstationary, asopposed to an alternate method of unwinding the wire inwhich the spool is mounted on a shaft, and the wire is unwoundtangentially while thespool rotates. While it is generally moreconvenient to unwind the wire across the end flange of the stationaryspool, such method of unwind ing results in the wire becoming tangledand distorted as it is being unwound.

It is known to provide devices for attachment to the end flange of aspool for anti-kinking purposes. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,960, there isdisclosed an impedance element including a plurality of radiallyextending thin, flexible members through which the wire is forced as itleaves the spool. This device is formed by winding a length of flexible,filament material upon a ring so that a multiplicity of lengths of wireacross a corresponding number of diameters of the ring is realized.During formation of the wire-wound ring, a central opening-or clear areais produced by the turns to provide a passageway therebetween whichcorresponds with the passageways provided in the two discs thereafterassembled on either side of the filament ring. Upon assembly of thediscs the turns are severed at their extremities beyond the peripheriesof the discs to produce a multiplicity of fingers or strands which serveto impede kinking of the wire strand as it is unwound from a spool towhich the device is attached. I

The device of said patent has certain inherent disadvantages because ofthe method by which the same is formed. Because the wire-like member iswound across a multiplicity of diameters of the ring, there is a buildupof material at the center of the ring due to the crossovers of thediameters proximate the center. This buildup of material produces anupstanding formation which hampers proper and desirable securementtogether of the discs over the wound strands. Furthermore, because eachwire strand is repeatedly wound completely across a diameter of thedisc, a large amount of filament material is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of this inventionto provide a device for controlling the tension of a length of wire asit is being unwound from a spool across one end flange thereof, saiddevice formed of a continuous looped flexible mono-filament membersandwiched between two discs which are coaxially secured, and extendingaround the circumference thereof, with the ex- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THEDRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view of the tensioning device embodying theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a'sectional view of said device taken along the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1 and inthe direction indicated generally. I I

FIG. 3 is'a plan view of said device partially assembled and withportions broken away to show disposition of the filaments on theretaining ring.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing, thewire-tensioning device embodying the invention is designated generallyby reference character 10. Said device It) includes a securing ring 12,a plurality of protruding wire-like extension fingers or strands 14 anda pair of disc members 16 and 18, coaxially secured on opposite sides ofthe ring 12 as a sandwich. The ring 12 and the disc members 16, 18 maybe formed of any suitably rigid material, such as, a heavy-weightpaperboard. Each of the discs 16, 18 is provided with a central aperture20, 22, respectively, to enable securement of the assembled tensioningdevice 10, in a well-known manner, to one end flange of a spool forretaining wire wound thereon.

' The tensioning member 10 is constructed in the man nerillustrated inFIG. 3. A continuous length of flexible mono-filament material 17 islooped so that the loops 17', 17", etc., are disposed around thecircumference of ring 12 with at least a portion 19', 19", etc., of eachof the loops 17 17" extending beyond the perimeter of ring 12. Thelooped filament 17 is secured to one side of ring 12 by adhesive 26 sothat the filament 17 is retained thereupon. The bound portions 28 of thelooped material 17 which are retained upon the ring member 12 extendonly partially toward the aligned centers 20, 22 of the discs 16, 18,such that a central unoccupied space 29 remains between the center ofthe discs and the imaginary circle 29" defined by the inwardly facingends of loops 17, 17", etc. The unoccupied space 29 is illustrated inFIG. 3 and is defined by the radius 30. Thus, there is no overlapping ofthe loops l7', 17", across the center of the discs 16,18 and therefore,there is no build-up of filament material 17 at this central location.The loops l7, l7", are wound and secured upon disc 12 such that auniform thickness of filament material 17 is present around the entirecircumference of the ring 12.

After assembly of the loops 17, 17", etc., upon ring 12, the ring issecured to disc 18. by suitable adhesive and disc 16 is secured to theopposite side of the assembly of ring 12 and disc 18. Upon securement ofthe loops 17', 17", etc., between discs 16, 18, the portions 21 offilament 17 are sandwiched between said discs. The radial dimension ofdiscsl6, I8 preferably is the same as the outside radius of the ring 12so as to enhance the rigidity and stability of the ring and discs onerelative to the other. Thereafter, the extremities 32 of each loop 17',17", etc., are severed to produce a plurality of wire-like fingers orstrands 14 which extend beyond the perimeters of discs 16, 18.

It may be noted that the density of strands 17 may be controlled by thenumber of loops or turns made. The strands may be formed of a suitablemono-filament synthetic plastic.

I claim:

1. A disc-like device for controlling the tension of a length of wire asit is being unwound from a spool across one end flange thereof, saiddevice comprising, a retaining ring, a plurality of loops of flexiblemonofilament material secured to one face of said ring and extendingbeyond the circumference thereof, and a pair of discs coaxially securedto either side of said ring to sandwich portions of said loops and saidring therebetween, the sandwiched portions of said loops extending onlypartially toward the center of said device to provide an unoccupiedspace between the center of the device and the ring.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said loops are formed fromone continuous length of material.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said loops are adhesivelysecured to said one face of the ring.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the radial dimension of thediscs and the outside radial dimension of the ring are substantiallysimilar.

5. A disc-like device for controlling the tension of a length of wire asit is being unwound from a spool across one end flange thereof, saiddevice comprising, a retaining ring, a plurality of fingers of flexiblemonofilament material secured to one face of said ring and extendingbeyond the circumference thereof, and a pair of discs coaxially securedto either side of said ring to sandwich portions of said fingers andsaid ring therebetween, the sandwiched portions of said fingersextending only partially toward the center of said device to provide anunoccupied space between the center of the device and the ring, saidfingers extending radially around the periphery of the device.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5 in which said fingers are adhesivelysecured to said one face of the ring.

7. A device as claimed in claim 5 in which the radial dimension of thediscs and the outside radial dimension of the ring are substantiallysimilar.

1. A disc-like device for controlling the tension of a length of wire asit is being unwound from a spool across one end flange thereof, saiddevice comprising, a retaining ring, a plurality of loops of flexiblemono-filament material secured to one face of said ring and extendingbeyond the circumference thereof, and a pair of discs coaxially securedto either side of said ring to sandwich portions of said loops and saidring therebetween, the sandwiched portions of said loops extending onlypartially toward the center of said device to provide an unoccupiedspace between the center of the device and the ring.
 2. A device asclaimed in claim 1 in which said loops are formed from one continuouslength of material.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which saidloops are adhesively secured to said one face of the ring.
 4. A deviceas claimed in claim 1 in which the radial dimension of the discs and theoutside radial dimension of the ring are substantially similar.
 5. Adisc-like device for controlling the tension of a length of wire as itis being unwound from a spool across one end flange thereof, said devicecomprising, a retaining ring, a plurality of fingers of flexiblemono-filament material secured to one face of said ring and extendingbeyond the circumference thereof, and a pair of discs coaxially securedto either side of said ring to sandwich portions of said fingers andsaid ring therebetween, the sandwiched portions of said fingersextending only partially toward the center of said device to provide anunoccupied space between the center of the device and the ring, saidfingers extending radially around the periphery of the device.
 6. Adevice as claimed in claim 5 in which said fingers are adhesivelysecured to said one face of the ring.
 7. A device as claimed in claim 5in which the radial dimension of the discs and the outside radialdimension of the ring are substantially similar.